Improvement in apparatuses for clasping hoops to ladies  skirts



D. H. SMYTH. GLASPING HOOPS T0 LADIES SKIRTS.

o 37,711. Patented Feb. 17, 1863.

w: NORRIS PETERS co, m'wcnrmoq w nominatedfthe feeder c of the clasps.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DAVID M. SMYTH, OF NEW YORK,.N. Y.

IMPROVEMENT INAPPARATUSES FOR CLASPING HOOPS TO LADlES SKlRTS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 37,711, dated February 17, 1863.

To all whom itImay concern:

Be it known that I, D. M. SMYTH, of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mac'hinery for Olasping Hoops to Ladies Skirts 5 and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, referthe figures.

My said invention relates to machinery for arranging the metal clasps from a promiscuous mass and presenting them one by one to a holder under the face of a hammer, points downward, by which hammer the points are driven over the hoop and into the skirt, and riveted; and my said invention also relates to machinery for regularly feeding and presenting the hoops and skirt to bring each hoop in succession to the right place under the hammer and there holding them to receive the clasp.

1n the accompanying drawings, a represents a plate with which the several parts of the machine are connected. From the rear part of this plate a curved arm, I), rises and extends over to the front part of the machine, and on top of this is secured what may be de- The clasps d are out out of sheet metal, with two pointed stems projecting one on each side, and there bent at right angles to the disk, so as to be parallel with each other, as represented separately in .Fig. 4. Theclasps in considerable quantity are throws upon the upper part of the feeder c at e, where it presentsja plane inclined toward the forward end of the machine, and also toward one .side,

where it'isprovid'ed with a flange, f, at right A narangles to the surface of the plane 0. row longitudinal slot, 9, is cut through this flange, extending up from the upper surface of the plane e to a height alittle less than the length of the stems of theclasps. The length of this slot should be considerable ascompared to its height. A slight jarring motion should be given to this feeder, which 'will cause the clasps to descend the inclined surface of v the plane 0, and as the inclination toward the flange is greater than toward the front of the machine, the clasps will run directly toward the flange f, and such of them as happened to be as required with the ilat surface of the disk on the plane e and their stems pointing upward-willbe stopped by the flange f, because the slot '9 is of less depth than the height of the stems; but those which happen to be in any other, and therefore improper, position will drop through the slot into some suitable receptacle to be replaced on the feeder. Those which reach the slot in the proper position, as described and represented, will gradually descend to the lower end of the slot, where the flange for a short distance, as at h, is winding like the mold-board of a plow. This winding surface gradually lifts up the outer edge of the disk of the claspto turn it over, its opposite edge falling into another long and narrow slot, 2', like the one 9, but cut through the bottom. or plane 0 at its' junction with the flange f, and this turning over brings the stems in contact with the surface of the inclined plane 6. In this position the clasps continue to travel down until the stems reach a third slot,- made through the inclinedsurface of the feeder and at a short distance from the flange f, that part of the surface between this slot and the flange f being for a. short distance slightly twisted, the stems fall into this slot, and the disk on both sides rests on the in.- clined surface of the feeder down which they continue to travel by gravity to the lower end at k.

The feeder above described I prefer to make of sheet metal, and I secure its lower end to the upper surface of the arm I). and at the extremity thereof, the upper surface of the arm being grooved out for the free passage of the stems of the clasps as they travel down, their disks riding on the inclined surface of the feeder. forward end of one arm, m, of a lever, which vibrates on a'fulcrum-pin, n, the other arm, 0', extending under the plate a, where itcan be operated by hand or by any suitable means not necessary to describe. Theinner side of the hammer is a segment .of a'circle struck from the axis of vibration, and in the opera.- tion moves nearly in contact-with the forward The hammer l is on the extreme end of thearm b and of the feeder; and when at its greatest elevationthe face of the hammer is on a level with the upper surface of the clasps on the feeder, and in that position the lowest of the clasps on the feeder descends under the face of the hammer, and would drop out were it not that there is a claw, 1), under the face of the hammer, which, for the time being, forms a short continuation of the Ways of the feeder, and holds it in place under the face of the hammer. This claw p is is the lower end of a spring-lever, q, hingedto the front'of the hammer, and its upper end is curved so that when the hammer descends, to soon as the points of the stems of the clasp have entered the skirt, the curved part of the lever q comes in contact with a projecting part, i", of the arm I), and the claw is thereby drawn away from under the clasp, which is then driven home by the final downward motion of the hammer. The further descent of the clasps on the freder is prevented by the curved inner face of the hammer as it vibrates down and up until it rises sufficiently high to receive another. The skirt with it's hoops is placed on a curved anvil, s, secured to the plate a, and held thereon by a plate, t, secured to the lower end of a rod, u, which slides vertically in ways 'v in the projection 1* of the arm I), the

said bar being provided witlia spring, w, the

tension of which presses the plate on the skirt to hold it in place during the operation of driving in the clas'ps. Just under the hammer the face of the anvil is formed with a cross-groove, x, to receive'the hoop whichis to be clasped to the skirt, the groove in its cross-section presenting a segment of a circle, so that when the points of the stem of the clasp are brought in contact with this grooved surface they will be bent inward under the hoop to clasp it firmly to the skirt above. The skirt and its hoops are moved for each operation by a carrier. This carrier consists of a"bar, y, which extends across under the anvil with a fork, a, on eachside. The bar is on the upper end of a slide, a, which slides in ways in a sto'ck, b, that rocks on a fulcrum-pin, c, at the lower end. The slide a is connected with the upper arm of a togglejoint lever, d, the central joint, e,'of which is connected by a jointlink with a rocker-arm,

f, and this-rocker-a'rm is in turn connected with the arm 0 of the hammerlever by a joint-link,g. As thehammer rises, the rockerarm f is moved forward, which has the effect first to bend the toggle- This draws down the carrier to clear the forks of the hoop which has just been clasped, and when the carrier is fully depressed and the toggle-lever can bend no more, the continued motionof the rocker-arm f rocks the stockb forward, which moves the carrier forward until it is under the next succeeding hoop in the skirt.

*On the returnmotion of the hammer-lever the first part-of the reversed motion of the rockerarm f straigh tensthe'toggle-lever, "which elevates the carrier, that its forks z 2 may take hold of the next hoop, and the continued motion then draws back the rocking stock with the'carrier to bring the hoop which it carries under the hammer as it is descending to drive ina clasp, and so onv in succession. The rock- 'er-arm f is slotted to receive the joint of the link 9, so that this point of connection can be adjusted at any desired distance from the axis of vibration to vary the range of vibration of the carrier to suit the different distances at which the hoops are setinskirts.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is'

1. The double inclination of the surface of the feeder, in combination with the 'side flange, and the three successive longitudinal slots for permitting the escapeor discharge of such of the clasps as are notin the required position and for holding back such as happen to be in the required position with the stems upward, aid for gradually turning them over that they may be delivered one by one with the stems downward, substantially as described.

2. The carrier with its up and down movements to liberate a hoop which has been clasped and take the next and move it to the required place to be clasped, substantially as described, in combination with the anvil-and the hammer, or their equivalents, as and for the purpose substantially as described.

DAVID M. SMYTH. -Witness'es A. DE LACY, WM. H. BISHOP. 

